Bulldogs a Big Hit Outdoors in New Canaan

Jan 09, 2013

Team Holds Special Skills Clinic at Winter Club

NEW CANAAN, Conn – The girls of the New Canaan youth hockey program got a special treat Tuesday evening, as the Yale women's ice hockey team stopped by to host a special skills clinic. The event started with the Bulldogs holding their own team practice at the New Canaan Winter Club, an outdoor rink that was started by members of the Resor family (relatives of former Yale women's ice hockey players Carry Resor '09, Helen Resor '09, Jane Resor '01 and Nina Resor '07). The Bulldogs are preparing for this weekend's games at Ingalls Rink vs. St. Lawrence and No. 6 Clarkson.

Once the Bulldogs had finished their own practice, the Yale players then took charge of organizing the skills clinic for the dozens of girls' hockey players from the New Canaan team in attendance. The Bulldogs led the Wildcats through a series of drills.

The Bulldogs are active in a number of community service initiatives; in addition to their time with the New Canaan team, they also take part in the annual "Skate with the Players" for local children at Ingalls Rink each winter. There are numerous other initiatives that they take part in, along with other Yale athletics teams, through the athletics department's Thomas W. Ford '42 Community Outreach Program.

The Bulldogs also have "adopted" a young brain tumor patient from Yale-New Haven Hospital, Giana, and help support her in her recovery. That is done through the "Yale Bulldog PAWS" program that was started by senior forward Alyssa Zupon (Basking Ridge, N.J.).

Additionally, the team organizes two annual events in memory of Mandi Schwartz '10 (1988-2011) and her battle with cancer. The "White Out for Mandi", a fundraiser for the Mandi Schwartz Foundation, takes place Saturday Jan. 26 at Ingalls Rink for Yale's 4:00 p.m. game vs. Colgate. The Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale takes place each spring and has added more than 3,000 potential donors to the Be The Match registry in the past four years. To date at least 14 genetic matches for patients in need of transplants have been located through the Bulldogs' efforts.